Enhancing game physics using Gauss map computation
Lyuba Alboul, Gilberto Echeverria, Marcos Rodrigues · SHURA (Sheffield Hallam University Research Archive) (Sheffield Hallam University) · 2005
The present paper presents an algorithm to make fast and simple computations of the surface curvature of polyhedral objects in 3D, using a method called the Polyhedral Gauss Map. The computations are simple and can be done either in advance for static objects that are not modified during the game, or in real time, for dynamically changing entities. The curvature information can be applied for the computations of the physical properties and behaviour of objects in a game, for example, estimating the 'roughness' of terrain or measuring the curvature of a race track in order to find the optimal path or identify objects of different curvature when sliding down a sloped surface.